Getty ImagesNow that we’re mainstream (or something close to it), we’re careful (or at least more careful) about trafficking in rumors. But when there’s a juicy rumor that is making the rounds in league circles, it’s hard to ignore it.
The latest isn’t a rumor as much as it’s a hunch by someone with close ties to the team Bill Cowher coached from 1992 through 2006. But it’s worth pointing it out, primarily because it’s very intriguing.
The source has a hunch (and, again, it’s just a hunch) that Cowher could be the next coach of the Panthers.
Cowher has previously been linked to the Panthers, primarily because he moved to North Carolina after resigning as coach of the Steelers. But now that he has been out of the game for six years, there’s a prevailing sense that Cowher is done coaching.
Still, he’s never publicly declared that he’s done. And with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson openly hoping to emulate the Rooneys, what better way than to hire Bill Cowher?
And now that Chan Gailey (the man Cowher endorsed to take over in Pittsburgh) now available to be hired, along with guys like Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, it could be the best way to get the most out of Cam Newton.
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KC will trade you Andy Reid for William Cowher please….
The sidelines need Cowher!
Chip Kelly for Carolina sounds like the more intriguing choice.
Can you imagine Kelly’s office with Cam Newton at quarterback? Could be a train wreck from hell, but it still would be interesting.
If Chip Kelly goes to the NFL this is the team he should coach.
I couldn’t see that happening unless Richardson gives him basic full control and a HUGE salary
It is a sensible move. Good, athletic, young QB, playmakers in the running game, a steady, hard nosed, veteran leader at WR, and a tight end that can move the chains. Get the right defensive coordinator and that could be a team. Question is, do you bring in a Lovie Smith to run a Tampa 2 defense with that personnel, or do you try and change them into a 3-4?
For all the talk about John Gruden, I’d take Cowher over Gruden any day of the week.
Carolina has pieces. Strong run game, a #1 WR, good linebackers. Makes sense …
Carolina should do this. ASAP but would you give Cohwer the power he will ultimately want? He’s been out the game 6 six years alot has changed. That said I’d do it. Tell Ron thanks for your diligence but the direction has been altered.
Cam is Kordell Stewart 2.0.
Cowher will not make a difference.
Chip Kelly with Cam will be a 1yr wonder. After that, NFL defense will come crashing down.
It would be wise for him to do it now based on the available assistants, granted Wisenhunt doesn’t get another crack at HC.
If I was Cowher I would take a position with Carolina as VP, get the front office in order and hire all of his guys to coach including Wisenhunt as HC, maybe Grimm if choice A is not available.
Wasn’t Arians a Cowher guy as well?
Cam Newton would quit in about 5 days of a Cowher regime. Mentally weak as he is, he probably wouldn’t like people yelling at him.
What an absolutely stacked coaching staff! Good running game and defensive talent. Cowher and Co could turn Carolina into a dynasty.
Nah.. Waiting one more year for the Giants job…
Chan Gailey always looked like a sad Peter Griffin from Family Guy on the sidelines to me.
@bucsrightoff- Kinda like most your team currently griping about Shiano methods. Give it a rest.
Cowher is going nowhere. 7 figure salary, 20 hour work week including the flight from NC, he has nothing to prove.
Chip Kelley and Cam Newton would be a fantastic combination to watch.
Richardson has been waiting for Cowher to move his chess piece and it sounds like Cowher is doing just that.
Meaning….Rivera will get his walking papers on a buy out and maybe head back to Chicago (I think).
@dangernearing – So one anonymous player currently griping about Schiano’s methods equals ‘most of the team’? Give it a rest.
So what you’re saying is that you’ve lost your edge.
This rumor is bunk. Cowher is done. Overrated anyway.
Mainstream?
Accept it, Cam is a mental midget. Congrats on him finishing strong again, you know, when their season was completely over? Cam Newton, dominates when its irrelevant, cannot find the guy when it matters.
can is still a punk.!!!!!!!!
As a Steelers fan, I’ll always love Bill Cowher. Before Coughlin pulled another Super Bowl out of his hat, I’d been hoping Bill might take a shot at the Giants. That’s the team run most like the Steelers, and it seemed a good fit. But now Coughlin seems less interested in retiring, and the more time passes, the less Bill seems interested in coaching. I’d much rather see Cowher start over with Eli than Cam, but the possibility of having either Chan or Whis as OC suddenly makes Carolina seem much more interesting.
Sure, Cowher with cam, because he did so well with Kordell??? No way this makes sense, I go chip Kelly or Kyle Shanahan
Cowher Power!!
Oh, here we go with the rumors again, talking in circles. Didn’t they talk about this just a few years ago?
Geez, we KNOW which team Cowher coached from 1992 to 2006. Stop trying (and failing) to be cute about it.
I think he’s done with coaching anyway. He can keep doing the TV gig and, like his ex-jock cohorts, never be right and yet never be held responsible for being wrong, or he can go back into coaching, with all the extra hours, extra stress, and possible accountability should things go poorly.
This is an old rumor in any event. We heard all about it (“FIRST!!!”) the last time Carolina had a coaching vacancy.
The over-the-hill club reunites for one last try.
This just in!… ESPN reports there is a 96% chance that Bill Cowher will become the Arizona Cardinals next head coach.
Good grief. This just needs to stop. “Bill Cowher has a house in North Carolina so now he’s bound to be the coach for the Panthers.” First of all, for the geographically challenged sports writers, the Panthers are located in Charlotte which is 2.5 hours from Raleigh, where Cowher lives. Secondly, Richardson won’t ever pay the money that will get Cowher to come out of retirement. Remember how well that worked with George Seifert? Third, Ron Rivera is still the head coach last time I checked. And he is likely coming back next season, which we’ll find out this weekend. So please, just stop the Cowher to Panthers talk already. People in the Carolinas have heard it for years and tired of the national media making up such a bogus possibility.
u2krazie says: “Cam is Kordell Stewart 2.0.”
Dude, you may be U2Krazie, but you don’t seem to have even an ounce of Bono’s intelligence. Didn’t y0u watch any NFL football this year? Sure, the media and fans spent the first 8 games talking about how defensive coordinators had figured Cam Newton out. But the second half of the season? Cam adjusted and then dominated. Should it really take a Titans fan like me to explain that to you?
Bill Cowher- head coach of the Giants in 2015 after Tom Coughlin retires.
tennesseeoilers says:Jan 4, 2013 4:03 PM
u2krazie says: “Cam is Kordell Stewart 2.0.”
Dude, you may be U2Krazie, but you don’t seem to have even an ounce of Bono’s intelligence. Didn’t y0u watch any NFL football this year? Sure, the media and fans spent the first 8 games talking about how defensive coordinators had figured Cam Newton out. But the second half of the season? Cam adjusted and then dominated. Should it really take a Titans fan like me to explain that to you?
__________________________________
Dominated against scrubs and teams whose seasons were over. He’s a ringer against the second tier, I’ll give you that.
If Carolina REALLY wants to be like Pittsburgh, then quit firing good head coaches.
Why ruin your legacy as a head coach at a team like Carolina.
Steelers should hire Cowher back. This Haley and Tomlin combo are a disaster
Hell no!!! They run a 4-3, not Cowher’s 3-4!!!
He was a great coach at one point, but CBS is where we can love him more!!!
Correction…since going “mainstream” you have interjected your unfounded and uninformed opinions into everything. Cut it out!!!
Whatever it takes to get him out of broadcasting.
The fact you had to preface with that says enough.
Good cause I dont want Cowher in Chicago. not another OLD SYSTEM
that defensive coordinators all over
the NFL have made a name for them self beating. SAME go’s for Gruden and Mooch
What ever Cowher do… dont come
near CHICAGO with that OLD…… system. If thats the case the Bears should have kept Lovie with his OLD
system. same go’s for Gruden and Mooch.